DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from applicant's abstract.) The primary objective of the research training program in gerontology and geriatrics is to train qualified individuals with MD and/or PhD degrees to become independent investigators in geriatric medicine and gerontology. Since 1986, an NIH institutional training grant has supported the training of biomedical and clinical researchers who have embarked upon academic careers in geriatric medicine and gerontology. Funding for an additional five years is requested to continue to train postdoctoral fellows to become independent scientists and clinical investigators through early and extensive involvement in laboratory and clinical research training under the tutelage of full-time faculty members at the applicant institution, often in collaboration with senior staff of the Roth, Jesse Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging. Aging research will be carried out by fellows under the guidance of senior mentors and mentors from major research groups that focus on the following problems of aging: diabetes mellitus; metabolic bone disease; hormone deficiency and replacement; cardiovascular disease; Alzheimer's disease; immunologic dysfunction; frailty; and DNA damage and repair. The proposed research training program is intended to continue as a component of the fellowship training program in geriatric medicine and gerontology at the applicant institution.